Notebook: Uniform change no help

Posted: Saturday, October 31, 2009

By ROGER CLARKSON

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mark Richt reached into his bag of tricks to change the early vibe.

But a uniform switch didn't produce a different result.

Georgia wore black pants and black helmets probably for the first time in the program's history on Saturday. But Florida continued its recent run of dominance in the series, winning 41-17 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

"I was shocked when I saw it," Georgia tight end Aron White said. "The red helmets and the silver britches is such a part of Georgia's tradition that it was definitely something that shocked me and it was something to get excited about. I'm just disappointed that we couldn't play better and get the win."

The black pants and black helmet were left over from last year. But Georgia lost its enthusiasm for blackouts after Alabama took a 31-0 halftime lead on national television.

"After the Alabama blackout, we decided that we might shelve those things for a little while," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "We felt like this might be a good time to pull those out. We were coming off of a victory against Vanderbilt and we were playing in this big ball game. The players didn't know anything about it and we wanted to spring it on the fans too for an emotional lift."

Georgia has worn black pants twice, during the 1998 Outback Bowl against Wisconsin and during the 1998 Florida game. Longtime Georgia sports information director Claude Felton could not remember a time the Bulldogs had ever worn black helmets. Even in the different uniforms, Florida won for the 17th time in the last 20 meetings.

"We felt a little energy and we were fired up," Georgia senior receiver Michael Moore said. "But we knew that there was still a game to play and we weren't thinking about the pants and the helmets when we started to play."

The players did not know about the uniform change until the returned to the locker room after pregame warmups. The team changed into the pants and helmets and returned to the field just before kickoff. But Florida took the early momentum by scoring on its first two possessions and taking a 14-0 lead.

"We went down 14-0 so not a whole lot came of it," Richt said. "I think this was a situation where we were trying to find a way to find some more juice, you know. I have no regrets. These guys like that kind of thing and when there's any time I can get these guys more excited about playing ball, I'll do it."

White gets warning

After catching a 26-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, White drew a talking-to from a referee about his reaction.

"He just told me to make sure I keep the celebrations with my teammates," White said. "I don't think I did anything excessive and I don't think he thought I did anything excessive. But he felt that he wanted to remind me because I was getting border line."

White caught the touchdown in the middle of the end zone. He raised his hands toward the mixed crowd of Georgia and Florida supporters before his teammates mobbed him.

"I put up my hands and then I turned around and he was there," White said. "But I liked the way he handled it. He just told me to watch out before I crossed the line."

Penalty bug returns

Georgia's affinity for yellow flags came back as the Bulldogs picked up nine penalties for 87 yards and gave away two free first downs.

"I thought we had some good fight, but it's difficult to overcome those kinds of penalties against the No. 1 defense in the country," Richt said. "We ran the ball well and we protected well, especially early on, and we made some nice plays. But penalties kept us from continuing drives."

One of the most damaging was a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on offensive lineman Josh Davis who pulled the helmet off of a Florida defender on the Bulldogs' first possession. The penalty effectively stalled Georgia's first drive after the Gators had taken a 7-0 lead on its first possession. Florida scored a second touchdown on its second possession and Georgia never seriously threatened for the lead.

"There were just too many errors," White said. "There were too many penalties. Emotions got too high. I'm glad that it didn't get out of hand but that's the intensity that comes with this rivalry."

Moore ends touchdown drought

A four-yard scoring pass from Joe Cox to Moore was Moore's first touchdown in five games.

"It was a great throw by Joe and great protection by the line," Moore said. "It was great for us because it put us in a lot better position in the game. We needed something to pull us back and it was a great throw."

Moore did not have a single catch in Georgia's last game, a 34-10 win against Vanderbilt. Saturdays' touchdown catch brought the Bulldogs within 31-17 with 6:17 left in the third quarter and culminated a 14-play touchdown drive.

"It felt good to finally get a touchdown," Moore said. "But the main thing was it got us back into good position in the game."

Green, Boling hobbled

Receiver A.J. Green and offensive lineman Clint Boling were injured in the game and Richt did not know the extent of those injuries on Saturday.

Green hurt his ribs in the fourth quarter when he took a shot to the midsection from Major Wright while trying to make a leaping catch. Richt said that at the very least he had the wind knocked out of him.

Boling has a tweaked knee and it was not known immediately after the game whether he would miss any time.

"We know it's hurt but we don't think It's something that's going to need surgery," Richt said. "We'll know more later but hopefully we'll get him back soon."

Boling has been Georgia's most versatile lineman. He has started at right tackle and right guard and on Saturday started at left tackle.

Chick-fil-A Bowl shows interest

The Chick-fil-A Bowl sent a representative to the game to look at the Bulldogs. The bowl also had respresetataives at North Carolina State-Florida State, Auburne-Ole Miss, Miami-Wake Forest, Mississippi State-Kentucky, Georgia Tech-Vanderbilt, South Carolina-Tennessee and at Thursday's game between Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

This and That

Strongside linebacker Nick Williams made the first start of his career. Williams later went out of the game with a lower back strain. ... Georgia started its fifth different offensive line of the season with Boling (left tackle), Cordy Glenn, left guard), Ben Jones (center), Chris Davis (right guard) and Josh Davis (right tackle). ... Orson Charles also made his first start at tight end.